MEXICO CITY (CN) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City's National Palace on Wednesday to discuss security, trade and migration concerns.
Rubio gave a joint press conference with Mexican Foreign Secretary Juan Ramon de la Fuente following the meeting, where he praised Mexico's cooperation in dealing with crime and the importance of sharing intelligence.
"This is a significant day in the relations of our two countries as we are able to formalize this unprecedented, historic, and - so far- highly successful security cooperation between the government of Mexico and the government of the United States," said Rubio.
De la Fuente expressed the Mexican government's willingness to forge ahead in a bilateral cooperative relationship to combat crime and the flow of drugs north.
"This dimension of our joint work is considered within the mechanism that we have created to work together," de la Fuente said before stressing sustained dialogue and continuity between the two countries and the importance of Mexican sovereignty in doing so - a point which he stressed throughout the press conference.
De la Fuente said strategies are put in place "for a safer border to reduce fentanyl trafficking and moving forward in greater collaboration when it comes to exchange of information within the legal framework."
"We have measures to combat financial flows, stopping the generation of violence and drug trafficking - each in our own territory - and the elimination of illicit tunnels that go from one side of the border to the other," said de la Fuente.
The visit comes a day after the U.S. military launched a strike off the Caribbean coast that killed 11 on board a boat, whom U.S. President Donald Trump claimed were Tren de Aragua gang members smuggling drugs from Venezuela to the U.S.
"Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. Beware!" Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social.
Tren de Aragua is one of the international crime syndicates designated as terrorists by the Trump administration in January. The attack comes on the heels of a reported secret directive made by Trump's administration on Aug. 8 to use military force to deal with cartels his administration deemed as terrorists.
Sheinbaum has vehemently rejected any possibility of a U.S. military intervention in her country, including a statement made in her first State of the Union address on Tuesday.
"Under no circumstance will we accept interventions, interference, or any other act from abroad that is detrimental to the integrity, independence and sovereignty of the country," she said.
Sheinbaum has been successful in fending off Trump's massive tariffs but has made significant concessions, including two major narco handovers - one on Aug. 13 when Mexico transferred 26 alleged cartel members to the U.S. and another in February when Mexico transferred 29 alleged cartel members.
Additionally, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia, co-founder of the Sinaloa cartel, pleaded guilty on Aug. 25 to engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and racketeering, resulting in life in prison.
El Mayo agreed to help the U.S. government locate $15 billion in asset seizures and stated that "the organization I led promoted corruption in my home country by paying police, military commanders and politicians that would allow us to operate freely," according to a Los Angeles Times report from the courtroom.
On Feb. 5, Sheinbaum launched Operacion Frontera in response to Trump's security demands, resulting in the arrest of 6,863 people and 148,551 pounds of drugs - including 853 pounds of fentanyl - between the beginning of the operation and Sept. 2.
Source: Courthouse News Service
